For those of you who are unaware of how boring driving across South Dakota on I-90 is, let me try to shed some light on it. The interstate is lined with billboard after billboard for the entire way. Many of these describing various popular stops that can be made throughout South Dakota. This includes amazing attractions like Wall Drug, the Tractor Museum, and the Corn Palace. However the cluster of billboards doesn't block too much of the flat farmland spreading alongside the interstate. Don't bother resorting to the radio either, scanning the stations in parts of South Dakota will yield a total of two stations, neither very entertaining. Since the driving was boring and we had time to spare that day, Miss Doe and I were "corn-vinced" by the endless billboards to stop at The Corn Palace... what a mistake.
Many of the billboards proclaim that that its the "World's Only Corn Palace". I have decided that is because it is a horrible idea. The whole thing consists of a big building (normally used to house basketball games and concerts) that has murals made out of different colored corn stapled to the outside. Once inside, you get to walk around a basketball
court that has been turned into a giant gift shop. And that is about all of the Corn Palace. So my advice is don't get "corn-fused" by the signs. Skip the Corn Palace. Maybe try the Tractor Museum if you are desperate.Severely disappointed, we continued the journey across South Dakota and decided to take the scenic byway through The Badlands National Park along the way. I think this is a much better side trip for South Dakota, even though it receives much less advertisement. In the Badlands Miss Doe and I went on a few hikes and saw some wildlife, but no black-footed ferrets like I was hoping for. We did see some rabbits, a couple bighorn sheep, a bunch of prairie dogs, and an unidentified snake (rattler?).
I really wanted to spot a black-footed ferret since they are one of the rarest mammals on the planet. They were thought to have become extinct during the 1900s until a small population of them was found in Wyoming in the 1980s. Captive breeding programs and reintroduction of the ferrets in suitable habitats have greatly increased their numbers. The whole recovery program sounds like it was an excellent job by conservationists. I think it is always good to hear remarkable stories like this, and it shows the positive impact people can make on the planet if they are willing to put in the effort. But since I didn't get to see one, I think I am going to have to make a trip back to the Badlands sometime to find a black-footed ferret!
After leaving the Badlands we continued towards Rapid City only to find that there wasn't a single hotel room in the whole city... and somebody didn't make reservations (oops). We had to keep driving, but luckily were able to get a room (thanks to Mom) not too far down the road. The next day we had a nice drive through Montana to Bozeman.
